Ancient History BA

In this module you’ll have the opportunity to engage in intensive study of a topic in Ancient History which you have chosen for yourself. This module, built on skills acquired and/or developed in your first and second years, notably, in the Extended Source Study and Studying Classical Scholarship, is primarily dependent on your personal research, supported by workshops and one-to-one supervision to guide you through the process and comment on draft chapters. 

Recent dissertation titles include:

• Cleopatra, Julia Domna, Zenobia: Representations of Eastern Women in Roman Literature 
• Plato’s Influence on Christian Philosophy in William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1794)
• Retail trade and urbanism in Pompeii
• Roman Leadership and Villainy in STARZ’s Spartacus
• Greco-Roman Lunar Deities
• Props on the Comic Stage of Aristophanes
• The Influence of Augustus on Trajan
• The Reception of the Myth of Medusa in Modern Dance
• Rome and Her Allies in the Mithridatic Wars 
• Representations of Physical Disabilities and Impairments in Greek Mythology

The year-long Special Subject module allows you to intensively study one of the most influential figures in Roman history – Augustus.

We examine how, after his victory in the civil wars, Augustus established his rule over the Roman world on a secure and generally acceptable basis. You will pay attention to the ancient sources (studied in translation). These include not only historical and literary texts, but also inscriptions, coins, art and architecture.

This module covers political aspects of the theme, but also Augustus' impact on society, religion, culture, and ideology.

You will have three hours of seminars per week. Assessment is through a combination of coursework essays, formal presentation and exam.

This module is worth 40 credits.

This module will consider: The history of Sparta from its origins in the archaic period through to its decline as a leading Greek power in the fourth century BC, with major events including: the ‘sixth-century revolution’; Sparta’s territorial expansion within the Peloponnese; Sparta’s leading role in resisting the Persian invasions; Sparta’s rivalry with Athens during the fifth century, culminating in the Peloponnesian War; the period of Spartan hegemony; Thebes’ rise and Sparta’s fall.

Spartan society, its institutions and cultural idiosyncracies, including: the communal upbringing; the communal dining of Spartan males; the Spartan political, property, and military systems; the position within Spartan society of helots, other subordinate groups, and women; Spartan attitudes towards war, wealth, religion, age, and outsiders.

The significant challenges posed by our available evidence, the issue of the ‘Spartan mirage’, and the fundamental question of how far we can hope to reconstruct Sparta and Spartan society.

Any reassessment for this module will be by essay or assignment.

This module focuses on the variety of local cults and cultures in the Near East (modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, Jordan) under Roman rule. We will zoom in on a number of localities in order to look at social, cultural and religious interactions between Greeks, Romans, Jews, Arabs and various other local cultures through literary, epigraphic, visual and archaeological evidence. In the great urban centres such as Palmyra, Tyre, Damascus, we will observe the adoption of the trappings of Graeco-Roman urbanism and public life (from peristyle temples to honorific statues) and their significance within the Second Sophistic.

On the other hand, we will explore alternative “pockets” of non-Hellenisation such as the lava lands of southern Syria with their distinct style of art and architecture in black basalt. ‘Oriental’ gods feature prominently in this module: We will explore their great sanctuaries (Temple of Jupiter at Heliopolis-Baalbek, Temple of Bel at Palmyra, Temple of Zeus at Damascus) in terms of architecture and ritual, and investigate their iconographies (Jupiter Heliopolitanus, Bel, Baalshamin, Atargatis of Hierapolis and myriads of other local gods). In contrast to Judaism and Christianity, there is a colossal lack of literary sources for these gods, and as a consequence, our understanding of their function and character hinges on how their worshippers depicted them in reliefs, statues, figurines and paintings.

This module takes as its focus the vibrant Greek literary culture of the Roman imperial period. It considers different models and methodologies for understanding ‘late’ Greek literature, and explores how this literature tackled and reframed contemporary debates about politics, religion, gender and sexuality, education, power, and cultural identity.

Central to the module will be questions of society, change, and self-fashioning, the relationship between Greece and Rome, and the sustained fascination with the historical, literary, and mythical past that runs through the literature of this era. The module will encompass both prose and verse texts, taking in rhetoric and oratory, parody and satire, sympotic texts, the ancient novel, Christian literature, epic poetry and more.

Continue your study of Latin or Classical Greek, following on from the beginners’ level modules.

You will thoroughly consolidate the vocabulary and grammar of your chosen language and begin the detailed linguistic and literary study of an unadapted Latin or Greek text.

In Latin, you will typically read a text such as Cicero’s Pro Archia, or a book of Virgil or Ovid.

In Greek, the text might be a complete speech by Lysias or selections from a longer text such as the Odyssey or a Greek tragedy.

The assessment for these modules emphasises comprehension and analysis of grammatical structures over memorisation and translation.

Each module is worth 20 credits.

You will study prose and verse texts in your chosen language, building on the skills you learned in the Intermediate modules.

By this stage you will be at or above A-level standard, and will benefit from being taught together with first-year students who have an A-level in the language.

The modules may involve in-depth study of a single text, or may cover a group of texts representative of an author, genre, period, or theme. They will combine literary and linguistic discussion with consideration of the historical and social background.

The texts covered change each year. In Latin, recent modules have focused on the following topics:

• Flavian personal poetry (Martial and Statius)
• The emperor Claudius (Suetonius and Tacitus)
• The Cupid and Psyche story from Apuleius’ novel Metamorphoses
• Ethnicity and Empire in Latin Epic (Virgil and Silius Italicus)
• The Power of Love (Ovid and Propertius)

In Greek, recent topics have covered:

• Tragedy (Sophocles’ Antigone)
• Selections from Homer’s Iliad
• Longus’ novel Daphnis and Chloe
• Plutarch’s Life of Antony
• Paradoxography (a portfolio of texts exploring the weird and marvellous)

Each module is worth 20 credits.

These two modules are for complete beginners. They are also suitable if you have already done some study of Latin or Classical Greek (up to GCSE level). They cover the same material as ‘Beginners’ Latin or Greek 1’ and ‘Beginners’ Latin or Greek 2’. They just let you start your chosen language at a later point in your degree.

You’ll get an introduction to the grammar and vocabulary of your chosen language and you will be supported to analyse and understand basic sentences and to translate short passages.

There is no speaking and listening element - the main focus will be on reading text.

If you take these modules in your second year, you can continue onto the ‘Intermediate’ modules in your third year. Note: this is mandatory for Classics BA students.

This module is worth 20 credits.

This group of modules is for those who have already reached A-level standard. They allow you to explore the work of Latin or Greek authors in detail.

You will also:

• improve your reading fluency
• gain insight into language and literature
• build linguistic analysis and literacy skills that are valued by employers

We pay special attention to language and style. Analysis of linguistic detail will build both your literary appreciation and your language skills.

Some modules will involve in-depth study of a single text, while others may cover a group of texts representative of an author, genre, period, or theme of Latin literature. All modules combine literary discussion with consideration of the historical and social background.

Regardless of whether you take Latin or Greek, the below applies:

Levels 1 and 2 are for first-year students: they involve a systematic programme of grammar revision alongside support with reading and analysis of the set text.

Levels 3 and 4 are for second-year students: they build on the previous year’s work, allowing you to read a larger amount of text and to develop your skills further.

Levels 5 and 6 are for third-year students: you will by now be able to read texts more independently, and assessment for these modules typically allows you to discuss the set text at greater length and with a high level of literary sophistication.

The texts covered change each year, but recent modules have focused on the following topics:

In Latin:

• Flavian personal poetry (Martial and Statius)
• The emperor Claudius (Suetonius and Tacitus)
• The Cupid and Psyche story from Apuleius’ novel Metamorphoses
• Ethnicity and Empire in Latin Epic (Virgil and Silius Italicus)
• The Power of Love (Ovid and Propertius)

In Greek:

• Tragedy (Euripides’ Hecuba)
• Books from Homer’s Iliad
• Longus’ novel Daphnis and Chloe
• Plutarch’s Life of Antony
• Paradoxography (a portfolio of texts exploring the weird and marvellous)

These modules are mandatory for Classics BA students with an A-level in Latin or Classical Greek. Other students with A-level can choose to start with ‘Latin or Greek Texts’ at levels 1 and 2, but they may drop later modules if they wish.

Each module is worth 20 credits.

From the bloodshed of the gladiatorial arena to civil wars and the assassinations of emperors, violence was ubiquitous in ancient Rome. This module will consider the various forms of violence in the Roman world and examine how they featured in daily life, literature, and art. The module will introduce students to a wide range of interpretative frameworks, drawn from fields such as film theory and social psychology, and will apply these theories to various aspects of Roman violence including, but not limited to, gladiatorial combat, criminal violence, and warfare. The focus throughout will be on issues surrounding the spectatorship of violence, its central role in Roman society, and its interpretation in the modern world.

This module will:

Develop student understanding of the various forms and ways of viewing violence in the Roman world

Introduce students to a range of theoretical approaches to violence in ancient Rome

Enable students to apply these theories to a wide variety of ancient evidence

Develop skills in oral communication, academic writing, and the critical analysis of sources

This module examines the rise and fall of ancient empires in the late Archaic and Classical periods, especially the Persian Empire, the Athenian Empire, and the Second Athenian Confederacy.

How did the defeat of the Persians in the Persian Wars lead to the rise of Athenian imperialism? How similar or different were the Persians and Athenians in their strategies of control? Why did the Athenians lose their maritime empire to the Spartans so quickly? How can we account for the successes and failures of different experimentations of empires in this period?

Apart from the political and institutional aspects, the module will also explore the ideological and cultural aspects of empires and the relations between the internal and external success of imperial powers. Students will engage with a wide variety of sources from the literary texts of Herodotus and Thucydides, to Greek poetry and drama, inscriptions on stone, the archaeology of memory, and Greek art and artefacts.

This module will explore late Roman Republican political and oratorical culture through the lens of the enmity between Cicero and Milo on the one hand and Clodius on the other, which led to the death of Clodius and the subsequent trial of Milo in 52 BCE: a watershed year in the decline of the Roman Republic, when on-going political chaos briefly led to the concentration of power in the hands of one man, Pompey the Great.

Cicero’s speech for the defence was the culmination of a years-long oratorical competition between himself and Clodius for the political high ground: he failed to secure Milo’s acquittal, but the speech he published later was proclaimed a masterpiece.

We will consider the broad historical context of the trial, the evidence for the lives and characters of the protagonists, the rhetoric of Cicero’s renowned speech for the defence and the reception of that text in the ancient and modern worlds. 

Forming the political, cultural and religious heart of the Roman world, Rome has provided an incredible wealth of iconic monuments and buildings whose legacy is still felt today. Through a combination of lectures and seminars, we will follow the chronological development of this fascinating city and its immediate surroundings: with the main focus placed on the mid-Republic onwards, the entire period of Imperial rule, culminating with Constantine in the 4th century AD.

Detailed discussion and analysis of topography, including key monuments and buildings, will provide students with an informed understanding of the main periods of development within the urban landscape and the levels of architectural sophistication and innovation that were achieved: discussions will also be encouraged to investigate the social and political context of these developments and the impact made by specific regimes

This module provides an overview of the work of the satirical writer Lucian of Samosata (2nd century CE), who came from the Roman province of Syria and wrote prolifically in Greek. A representative selection of Lucian’s varied writings will be covered, including such genres as comic dialogue (which he was proud of inventing) and oratory, as well as his attacks on liars and charlatans.

Themes running through the module will include Lucian’s self-presentation; his presentation of Greek and non-Greek cultures; techniques of humour and satire; and Lucian’s use of the Greek literary tradition. All texts will be read in translation.

This module introduces map-making for the Arts and Humanities. You will be introduced to the field of spatial humanities and will learn how to carry out spatial analyses of humanities datasets and present their findings to a high standard.

You’ll be introduced to the key principles of spatial analysis and digital cartography using open-source Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software. We will also explore the broad and exciting applications of spatial analysis.

We will also work with you to help you understand the role of GIS in digital humanities, the role of this in research and practice more widely, and the employability value of GIS as a skill.

The Greeks are often credited with the invention of democracy, yet many Greek cities were ruled in antiquity by autocrats or elites.

This module studies the institution of tyranny in archaic and classical Greece (c. 550-324 BC) and aims to assess the impact of autocratic rule on the politics and culture of the Greek world.

You will examine the history of three major examples of tyrannies in this period: the Pisistratids of Athens, the Deinomenids in Sicily and the rule of Dionysius I of Syracuse. Through this, you will consider how the Greeks viewed and defined tyrants, the main characteristics and features of tyranny; and whether these altered in different periods and locations.

This module examines the reign of Justinian (527-565): the last great Roman Emperor.

Justinian ruled at a time of considerable upheaval including the fall of the western part of the Roman Empire, the growing power of Persia and a plague in Eurasia. But he was able to stamp his mark firmly during tumultuous times, from conquering Africa, Italy and much of Spain, to codifying Roman law.

This module approaches Justinian and his age in a thematic fashion, looking at developments in politics, culture, and society across the sixth century and placing those developments in a broader context.

We will use a broad range of evidence in the course of the module: historical texts, literary evidence, inscriptions, papyri, and art. We will also engage critically with modern assessments of this complex and controversial emperor.

This module covers the formative Hellenistic period of Roman culture.

You will explore the adoption of elements of Hellenistic culture in the art and archaeology of Italy between 330-30 BC. You will particularly focus on the varieties of interaction in the different regions of the Italian peninsula, and how these processes of Hellenisation paved the way for the iconic worlds of the Roman imperial period.

Topics include the general designs and stylistic changes of art in Hellenistic Italy. Within this, you will explore public, private, funerary and religious art in different mediums like sculpture, painting, architecture and urbanism.

You will also learn about the interdependencies of Hellenisation and Romanisation.

This module will introduce students to the reception of ancient Greek and Roman myth, literature and history in the medium of comic books from the 20th and 21st centuries.

We will explore how various modern presentations of the ancient world can be used to better understand both the ancient world itself and our relationship to it. This will involve a critical understanding not just of the content of certain comic books but also of the related theories of cultural studies, reception studies, narratology, semiotics, race and colonialism, sexuality and morality in both the ancient and modern world. As such students will be expected to be able to deal with complex issues not just about the ancient world, but of modern comic book production too.

The themes that will be explored will consist of; Greek and Roman mythology, Greek and Roman historical events, Greek tragedy and heroism; all the while dealing with such case studies as horror comics, sci-fi comics, superhero comics and comic adaptations of ancient myths.

This module introduces students to aspects of ancient Greek medicine, with sources ranging from the earliest surviving medical texts of the ‘Hippocratic corpus’ (late 5th century BCE) to Galen and Soranus, who worked under the Roman Empire in the 2nd century CE.

We will consider topics including:

• ancient physiological theories including the theory of ‘four humours’ and methodism
• development of knowledge about anatomy and diet
• theories about psychology
• theories about sexual differentiation
• problem-based medical education
• ancient pharmaceuticals and surgery
• diagnostic techniques
• professionalisation
• patient experiences
• religious sanctuaries as healing centres.

Religion was central to all aspects of Roman life, but did the Romans really 'believe'?

This module explores the traditions and rituals that operated in Roman society, from the earliest stages of archaic Rome, to the advent of Christianity. It will help you to make sense of customs and practices that could baffle even the Romans themselves, alongside showing how the religious system controlled Roman social, political and military activities.

You will examine evidence drawn from the late Republic and early Principate, and use literature and images from the Augustan period as a central hinge for studying the dynamics of religion in Rome.

Topics covered include:

• The definition of 'religion' and comparative studies
• Early Rome and the origins of religion
• The calendar temples and other religious buildings
• Priesthoods and politics
• Sacrifice
• The deification of the emperor
• Foreign cults in Rome
• The supposed 'decline of religion'
• Early Christianity

This module is worth 20 credits.

This module introduces the archaeology of the Mycenaean world. It will familiarise you with the achievements and material culture of one of the greatest European Bronze Age civilizations of the second millennium BC. This will be through discussing the historical, social, cultural and economic context of the period.

You will explore:

• The world of the Mycenaean palaces and citadels, their towns and trading ports
• Warfare
• Religion and cult activities
• Mortuary practices and ancestor worship

We also consider their wider connections across the Mediterranean world.

This module is worth 20 credits.

The aim of this module is to teach practical skills in media engagement and management through lectures and workshops, running in parallel with examining how archaeological data are used in media narratives through seminars.  

The seminars will use a case study approach and staff will draw on their own experience with different forms of media, such as TV, radio, podcasts, print and social media.  

In the media engagement sessions we will teach skills such as: identifying a story, writing press releases, the importance of meaningful images, running a press conference, interviewing/ being interviewed, and writing article copy. We will also consider the differences between print and social media, and the importance of being succinct – a key skill!

Students will be able to choose the topic that they work on for their assessment, but all will engage in the in-class exercises. These will include scenarios such as being journalists at a press conference, and needing to write up the story that comes out of it. They will then submit these as part of their portfolio.